PARIS, Sept 24: France has announced the deployment of military personnel and defensive systems to help protect key Saudi energy infrastructure on the Red Sea coast, particularly oil facilities in Yanbu.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in an interview with French television channels TF1 and France 2, said France and Saudi Arabia had agreed on military cooperation to protect critical energy infrastructure in Yanbu.

He said France would deploy military personnel, radar systems and defensive equipment to Saudi Arabia, while French air assets already present in the region could also be used if required.

Macron stressed that the purpose of the deployment was not to directly participate in any war but to help defend and protect Saudi Arabia’s critical oil infrastructure.

Yanbu is a strategically important part of Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure. The country’s East-West oil pipeline, also known as Petroline, transports crude oil from Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil-producing areas to Yanbu on the Red Sea, providing an alternative route for exports to international markets.

The pipeline has gained additional strategic importance amid heightened regional tensions because it provides Saudi Arabia with an alternative to shipping oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

The energy infrastructure in Yanbu has faced the threat of drone and missile attacks in recent weeks. Saudi Arabia temporarily suspended operations on the East-West pipeline following a drone attack on September 11, but resumed oil flows through the pipeline on September 22.

The East-West pipeline has a reported capacity of around seven million barrels per day, making it a key component of Saudi Arabia’s oil export infrastructure and an important route for global energy supplies.

France’s decision comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, with the security of energy infrastructure in the Gulf and Red Sea emerging as a major international concern.

French officials have described the planned assistance as defensive in nature, aimed at protecting Saudi energy infrastructure from potential attacks and helping maintain the operation of an important alternative route for global oil supplies.